The Germantown woman was loading boxes of food from the Manna food bank into a shiny sport-utility vehicle one recent afternoon when she was approached by a donor dropping off food.
"What group are you with?" the donor asked the woman, who promptly burst into tears. With her Toyota Sequoia and quilted Vera Bradley bag, she had been mistaken for a volunteer -- rather than a client waiting to take home a bag of potatoes.
"I'm a mother of four just trying to feed my kids," the woman sobbed to the donor, who was taken aback, then sympathetic.
Such awkward scenes are playing out frequently at food pantries and other charities across the region as they struggle to help the still upward-spiraling number of formerly middle-class people knocking on their doors.
LINK HERE
Partial solution: Victory Gardens!! Trade your lawn mower for a tiller. Rip out the grass and ornamentals! Start planting edible landscapes! Build a chicken tractor. Plant orchards. If the HOA complains, then remember: your right to survival far exceeds their desire for "attractive surroundings". All HOAs will go bankrupt eventually, unless they want to handle security and deliver the compost.
ReplyDeleteI hope people won't wait till it's too late to make that Victory garden. Pride is a terrible thing.
ReplyDeleteim enlarging my garden 300% for next year... plowing up lawn next month to prep for spring planting.... my gut tells me we are going to need it, or friends/family will need help... good advice.. don't wait! start planning NOW ! 'bamas not gonna do it for you!
ReplyDeleteIt's already too late for 90% plus of this country. The people just don't have the mental fortitude to deal with what is happening. And to think it's going to get MUCH worse soon enough.
ReplyDeleteMass suicides, riots and general hell breaking lose. What a purdy future!
I bought a lot of hybrid seeds but as a farmer, I am a good electrician. Everything I try and grow dies.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I do see the humor in being on the brink of starvation then planting some seeds and waiting for food! Grow dammit!
I live in the city with little area to grow stuff. If I had some land, even a 10'x20' patch you bet I'd be pulling out worthless flowers.
The problem in growing a garden in plain site or where it is easily accessible is theft. People steal your shit NOW - just wait until they are starving.
you need heirloom quality seeds if you want them to produce. not hybrid. hybrid will only produce one time and then the seeds from them are infertile.
ReplyDeleteI have been gardening for some time now, having resumed it after about 5 years of not planting one. This year I had a bumper crop of everything!! Next year, bigger and better, as I am going into the half acre I have been saving behind my barn.
ReplyDeleteI looked around my place, and damn, I can't find my TOYOTA SEQUOIA!!! All I see is my 1996 Honda Accord, and my 1993 GMC truck!! Now where in the hell could my Sequoia have gone? Maybe it is out being used for picking up free food somewhere. Also, my wife is missing her Vera Bradley bag, which she said she really decided not to buy as it was TOO FRIGGING EXPENSIVE!!!
My wife and I talked about the Sequoia and the Vera Bradley bag that she did not buy, and decided if we get into financial troubles, we will try and find both of them and SELL THEM, so we can afford food at the store!
4:22 Good points. People today just don't get it. They were brought up in the "land of plenty", given everything in their youth by adoring parents, and are in no way prepared to face the reality of the fast approaching hard times. They think that having to sell their car or other "stuff" for food and other life necessities is just plain unfair. Wait until there is not enough food in the food lines to supply their needs. But I bet they will still hold onto all their "stuff" and resort to whining about how unfair America is.
ReplyDeleteThe sequoia, the vera bradley would be sold (not that they were ever purchased) The 61 y.o. with 5 kids living at home -- those kids would get jobs and pay rent
ReplyDeleteThe fussy mommy needs to wake up and smell the generic coffee. If she's concerned about additives and preservatives she better start her own garden.
I was actually impressed with the folks who were renting out their basement.
ARE THEY KIDDING WITH THIS ARTICLE, HAVE YOU SEEN HOW FAT POOR PEOPLE ARE? THEY HAVE TO KNOCK DOWN WALLS WITH A BULLDOZER TO GET THEM OUT. GOOD GET THEM ON A DIET ALREADY, AND SHUT DOWN SOME BIG BOX SUPERMARKETS, HALF THE FOOD IS ROTTING ON THE SHELVES PLEASE , UGGGHHHH SO ANNOYING.
ReplyDeletepigs at the trough. no one in this picture is starving.
ReplyDelete